Russia - Soviet: Order of Glory, 3rd Class, type 2, silver and enamel, reverse numbered: ‘410984’. This dates the award to the Spring of 1945. In all, 997,815 3rd Class awards were issued.
Condition: slight loss to enamel work, light polishing to highlights, evidence of wear, overall Good Very Fine.
The Order of Glory was established by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on 8th November 1943. It was awarded to soldiers and non-commissioned offices of the Red Army as well as to aviation junior lieutenants, for bravery in the face of the enemy.
While the overwhelming majority of all Order of Glory awards was for combat valour in the Second World War (or the Great Patriotic War as it is known across the countries of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), there are documented instances of awards of the order's lowest class - its third class - for post-war Soviet military operations. Numbering among these were Order of Glory Third Class awards authorised for Soviet operations in support of the Korean War from 1950-1953 as well as for the Soviet military intervention in Hungary in the fall of 1956. A small number of Order of Glory Third Class awards was also made in connection with armed border clashes with the People's Republic of China in 1969. The order became defunct with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In 1992, the Cross of St. George was revived to serve the same purpose of recognising enlisted personnel bravery.
The Order of Glory, which was modelled closely after the Tsarist Cross of St. George, was divided into three distinct classes. Like the Cross of St. George, a soldier would initially be recommended for the order's lowest class - in the case of the Order of Glory its third class. Subsequent distinct acts of valor could result in the soldier being recommended for the order's two remaining classes - its second and first class - which were awarded sequentially. Soldiers who received each of the order's three classes were referred to as a "Full Cavalier of the Order of Glory". In Soviet society they were accorded the same rights and privileges as those granted to personnel who had received the Hero of the Soviet Union title. All told, 2,656 Red Army soldiers (including four men who were also awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union title as well as four women) would attain Full Cavalier status.
